Doug: Not at all. But then - I wasn't expecting Cote de Pablo to leave either. I can imagine the writers having a basic story arc planned out for the season, and then being broadsided by her announcement. There's a reason this episode was so hectic: they had to scramble to account for her coming absence, and rebuild the season from scratch. The experience for them must have been as frustrating and hectic as it must have been challenging (the latter of which, from a writing point of view actually is a good thing).

Christine: The time jumps were a little annoying... and I really expected to see more of Ziva. At least one scene. I know we have so little time left with the character that not seeing her at all was a real disappointment. But it was good to see everyone else getting back to work at NCIS.

Steve: Definitely not. From Ziva not appearing in an episode focused on her exit from the show to Parsons' turnaround to the extrapolation of the plot against NCIS, it was one curveball after another for me. That doesn't mean it fell flat, however. As a portion of a two- or three-part episode, if you count last season's finale, it left me as intrigued to see the next chapter as I've ever been watching the show. What more can you ask for?

3. What was your favorite quote or scene from the premiere?

Doug: I laughed at the scene in the office, when Tony is just getting acclimatized to seeing someone else sitting in Ziva's seat. When Murray (the new IT guy) tried to explain something, Tony said "hold on." Are you not using contractions?" (Because the non-use of contractions is Ziva's thing). I also liked the ambush scene with Gibbs in Iran. I don't think we see enough action on this show, so that was pretty cool.

Christine: Tony's line when asked about going to Israel. "I'll travel for good hummus." A man after my own heart.

Steve: The Iranian ambush scene, like Doug said, was NCIS: Los Angeles-esque. I also enjoyed in its aftermath how Gibbs asked, regarding Parsons, "What do you want me to do, leave him here?"

4. Do you trust Parsons?

Doug: Yes and no. I trust him always to do the ethical thing. But I don't trust him to always have the team's back, especially because they occasionally do the unethical thing. How much of a stickler for the rules is he? If it came down to a toss-up between following the rules and supporting the team, my money's on the rules. The team always tries to do the right thing but the right thing is not always the ethical one.

Christine: Not completely, but I do believe he was only trying to do his job when he attempted to take down NCIS. I believe he thought he was doing the right thing. It will be interesting to see how he will get along with everyone moving forward, if he continues hanging out with the NCIS crowd. And as Doug said, doing the "right thing" can get a little complicated when you're working in the field. It might be fun to see how Parsons handles that.

Steve: I do actually. Beneath the ruthlessly ambitious, bureaucratic ladder-climbing exterior lies a man who must be at least somewhat sympathetic to those to go all-out at their jobs, which the team truly does. Once he realized the true nature of what he was investigating, he saw Gibbs in a different light. I don't think he'll revert to his old ways, at least not next week.

5. McGee has a girlfriend. Discuss.

Doug: I don't think Tony's met her yet - I think he'd approve. I certainly do. Margo Harshman, who plays Delilah, was wasted on The Big Bang Theory. I like the fact that she has a higher security clearance than McGee and Abby: it raises some interesting potentials for conflict. Plus she's drop-dead gorgeous. (Sorry. Had to channel Tony for a second. Won't happen again. Not today anyway.)

Christine: Yet to be determined. I'm with Abby right now. I don't know quite what to make of her. She's smart and beautiful. I just didn't feel much chemistry between her and McGee in the short scene that we got. Maybe that will change moving forward.

Steve: We'll need to see more to get a better feel for this, as Christine says, and here's hoping that Tony meets her next week or the week after. Good or bad, you know that would be memorably comedic.

Doug: At first I was like "really?" It didn't make sense to me and seemed a little contrived. But then I realized, some terrorists are into the drug industry, using the profits to fund their terrorist plots. So it *kind of* makes sense that they'd seek other ways to accrue some profits - but only if their end game is to fund their ideology. Just can't bring myself to believe anyone would be a terrorist just to make money. I just can't. Robbing a bank - sure. Doing white collar crime? Of course. Blowing up buildings and innocent people and sending out assassins? Yeah, not so much.

Christine: I'm underwhelmed. For me it comes across as just one more conspiracy plot and we've seen a lot of them. On this show I'm always more interested in how the characters react and interact with one another.

Steve: On Revenge, the Initiative really was/is just trying to make money from terrorism. Here, I felt the Brotherhood's alleged motives and connection to NCIS/Homeland were a bit murky, at least as they were explained Tuesday. I'll reserve judgment in hopes that it plays out in a coherent way next week.

7. Prediction time: How will the show bid farewell to Ziva?

Doug: I think she is Israel-bound for the foreseeable future. In an effort to save her from the assassins sent out by the Brotherhood of Doubt, Tony will hunt her down and they will have their final bittersweet moment and that'll be that. I just hope the writers don't come up with a cheesy variation on "let's not say goodbye; let's say so-long for now."

Christine: My guess is that she'll be staying in Israel, either for her own protection or as a part of her father's legacy. And as much as I've been a huge Tiva fan, at this point I'm just hoping that Tony and Ziva get one great moment and then move on. The last thing I want to see is Tony being in limbo for the rest of the series in the hopes that she'll return for a happy ending. The guy deserves to be happy now.

Steve: If there's any positive to Cote de Pablo's exit, it's that NCIS will finally push the Tony-Ziva relationship to another levels, if only for a fleeting moment. And it's going to be great. At least I hope so.